Baseball Game Preview: Murray County Central Rebels vs. Edgerton/Southwest Minnesota Christian Flying Dutchmen

Murray County Central and Edgerton/Southwest Minnesota Christian are an even 5-5 against one another since April of 2017, but likely not for long. The Rebels will face off against the Flying Dutchmen at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Murray County Central had to skate by with only a two-run margin when they last took the field, which might have inspired the seven-run drubbing they dealt Red Rock Central/Westbrook-Walnut Grove on Thursday. The Rebels put the hurt on the Falcons with a sharp 10-3 win. The victory was familiar territory for the Rebels, who have now won six contests in a row.

Meanwhile, Edgerton/Southwest Minnesota Christian made easy work of Russell-Tyler-Ruthton on Tuesday and carried off a 7-1 win.

Trevin Prins spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on five hits and racked up six Ks. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in three consecutive appearances.

At the plate, Edgerton/Southwest Minnesota Christian's victory was truly a team effort as five different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Nathan Hoekman, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI and one run. That's the most hits Hoekman has posted since back in April. Another was Blake Schultz, who went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases.

Edgerton/Southwest Minnesota Christian is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 11-4 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.1 runs over those games. As for Murray County Central, their victory was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 10-1.

Murray County Central suffered a grim 13-1 defeat to Edgerton/Southwest Minnesota Christian in their previous matchup back in April. Can the Rebels avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.